The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé) marks the return of Sophia Loren to film after a decade away. This Italian drama about an immigrant boy was directed by Loren’s son Edoardo Ponti. At 86, Loren possesses all the charisma, power, and presence that made her world famous as a younger woman.
Continue reading “Review: The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé)”Tag: Isabella Rossellini
Review: Shut Eye, season 2
Jeffrey Donovan and KaDee Strickland return as Charlie and Linda Haverford in season 2 of Shut Eye. The series about con artists and scammers is a Hulu Original. Continue reading “Review: Shut Eye, season 2”
Review: Shut Eye, season 1
Shut Eye, a Hulu original series, is one of the more creative and surprising things I’ve seen in a while. Everything about it is unexpected. Continue reading “Review: Shut Eye, season 1”
Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words
Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words tells the story of the famous actress through never-before-seen private footage, notes, letters, diaries, and interviews with her children. The documentary presents a look behind the scenes of the remarkable life of the Swedish woman who became one of the most celebrated actresses of American and the world. Even before the age of Facebook and Instagram, Bergman documented her own life in great detail. Continue reading “Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words”
Watch This: Trailer for Joy
Joy stars Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Elisabeth Röhm and Dascha Polanco. We’ve seen the names Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro together in films before and it has meant Oscar nominations for Jennifer Lawrence when we do. This film is her 3rd with director David O. Russell.
I’m not sure we need to know much beside the pedigree listed in the first paragraph, but here’s the synopsis for the film:
Joy is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, pave the road in this intense emotional and human comedy about becoming a true boss of family and enterprise facing a world of unforgiving commerce. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy’s inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces.
Joy tries to teach her children humility. “Don’t ever thing the world owes you anything because it doesn’t,” she says. “The world doesn’t owe you a thing.”
We need more of this attitude in the world today. There doesn’t seem to be a shred of humility anywhere in the United States. In the film Joy overcomes insurmountable obstacles to become the founder of a family empire.
The film is loosely based on the real-life Joy Mangano, who appears regularly on the Home Shopping Network selling items as like the “JOY FleXassage™ Body Massager Pillow with Neck Massager” and her Huggable Hangers, which are HSN’s all-time most popular product.
The story was written by Annie Mumolo and David O. Russell.
Look for it in theaters on Christmas day.